Daley: House vote a 'sad day'

"I have always said I think he should, for the sake of his own family and for the sake of the people of Illinois, make the right decision," Daley said.

It was "a very sad day" when the two-term Democrat became the first governor in state history to be impeached, Daley said. Friday's action sets the stage for the first impeachment trial in the state Senate in more than 175 years.

Daley predicted the Senate will be "very cautious and very professional and very fair about the presentation of evidence."

"It's a very serious step in the history of government in this country and we have to understand there are serious decisions to be made," Daley said at an event in Uptown.

Also Saturday, Daley vowed to fight an Appellate Court decision that further delayed the city's plans to expand O'Hare International Airport.

On Wednesday, the 2nd District Appellate Court overturned a decision by a DuPage County judge this summer that said Bensenville officials had failed to prove that the demolition of homes in the path of a runway addition was unsafe for neighbors. DuPage Judge Kenneth Popejoy also had said that federal and state environmental laws were the proper venue for safeguarding some concerns."We're going back to the local judge because this is costing us more taxpayer money and it's costing those involved in the aviation industry more money," Daley said.

The mayor also repeated his insistence that the federal government needed to be more flexible after the city failed to make a deadline to apply for a $153 million transit grant to help ease traffic gridlock

Daley said he had spoken with U.S. transportation officials, who agreed to hold over the grant money until President-elect Barack Obama's administration takes office.

Daley said the city missed the deadline because it was forced to delay bidding for a 75-year parking meter lease deal to allow bidders to "get their financial situation in order."